Scaling Theory of a Compressibility-Driven Metal-Insulator Transition in a Two-Dimensional Electron Fluid

TL;DR

This paper develops a scaling theory for a metal-insulator transition in 2D electron systems driven by compressibility, offering a new perspective distinct from traditional diffusion-based models.

Contribution

It introduces a novel scaling framework based on compressibility vanishing, aligning with experimental data and connecting to theories of incompressible quantum fluids.

Findings

The theory matches existing transport and compressibility measurements.

Predicts new observable behaviors near the transition.

Links to theories of incompressible quantum fluids.

Abstract

We present a scaling description of a metal-insulator transition in two-dimensional electron systems that is driven by a vanishing compressibility rather than a vanishing diffusion coefficient. A small set of basic assumptions leads to a consistent theoretical framework that is compatible with existing transport and compressibility measurements, and allows to make predictions for other observables. We also discuss connections between these ideas and other theories of transitions to an incompressible quantum fluid.